Variable displacement internal combustion engines provide for improved fuel economy and torque on demand by operating on the principal of cylinder deactivation, sometimes referred to as Active Fuel Management or Displacement on Demand. During operating conditions that require high output torque, every cylinder of a variable displacement internal combustion engine is supplied with fuel and air (also spark, in the case of a gasoline internal combustion engine) thereby enabling the internal combustion engine to provide the required torque. During operating conditions at low speed, low load and/or other inefficient conditions for a variable displacement internal combustion engine, cylinders may be deactivated to improve fuel economy for the variable displacement internal combustion engine and vehicle. For example, in the operation of a vehicle equipped with an eight cylinder internal combustion engine, fuel economy will be improved by reducing throttling losses if the internal combustion engine is operated with only four cylinders during low torque operating conditions. Throttling losses, also known as pumping losses, are the extra work that an internal combustion engine must perform to pump air around the restriction of a relatively closed throttle plate and pump air from the relatively low pressure of an intake manifold through the internal combustion engine and out to the atmosphere. The cylinders that are deactivated will disallow the flow of air through their intake and exhaust valves, reducing pumping losses by forcing the internal combustion engine to operate at a higher throttle plate angle and a higher intake manifold pressure. The deactivation of the cylinders may be accomplished by disabling or deactivating the intake and exhaust valves associated with the cylinder to be deactivated. Since the deactivated cylinders do not allow air to flow, additional losses are avoided by operating the deactivated cylinders as “air springs” due to the compression and decompression of the air in each deactivated cylinder.